Measuring 104.0 x 49.0 x 18.0 mm and weighing a whopping 136 grams this is a phone not to be taken lightly, it weighs more than the N95 8gb and still manages to have a smaller screen and its dimensions mean its more of a Kit Kat chunky than a candy bar phone. Now this isn't meant to put you off we just want to ensure you know the SE C905 is a bit of a brick compared to the slim line candy bar phones we have all become used to.

There is a reason as to why and that because Sony Ericsson have packed every feature know to mankind into the C905. First up this is a Cybershot camerphone which jumps it somewhere between buying a proper camera and the normal iffy camera phones. Sony take their photography and Cybershot very seriously and the Ericsson C905 is the most serious to date. Boating a whopping 8 megpixel chip this is the first mobile to break into the upper end of digital imaging using a Carl Zeiss lens as well.

Slide open the lens cover on the rear to reveal the silver surrounded lens and the C905 Switches into camera mode, the controls are very similar to pervious models and not that far removed from the Cybershot range of consumer cameras. As we expected it has a good auto focus system and features such as best pic and face recognition have arrived on Cybershot phones now too, there is anti blur shake reduction and also a Xenon flash to try and lift the gloom in darker places. The only thing that seem to be missing is an optical lens as seen of a small number of competitor mobiles.

We tried a number if shots in varying locations and lighting conditions, like most camera phones it likes light and lots of it, yes there is an image correction software option but we'd prefer to leave that alone and fix on the PC with the best software rather than damaging the image on the mobile. Pictures were generally sharp, crisp and colourful and it copes well with movement, just don't go expecting to shoot F1 cars with it. Once you have taken your snaps they are stored on the Micro memory Stick and can also be uploaded via data connection or the in built WiFi.

The WiFi connection is very handy for the normal office application and combined with an auto sensing portrait / landscape sensor makes web browsing not too bad either. However we found that it opens the door to hook the C905 to a while host of other devices like a Playstation or PC and there are number of handy applications for turning the handset into a remote control too.

The C905 comes pre equipped with both a GPS system and also Google maps and wayfinder navigation software. Google maps uses a combination of the GPS information and A-GPS which uses the phone network to give approximate location. Wayfinder is a fully featured mobile mapping application which will guide you door to door with turn by turn instructions. A nifty use of the A-GPS is to Geo tag the photos taken on the Cybershot phone meaning you can push them into an application to show exactly where each image was taken and plot them onto a map. You can also use DLNA which is a high speed media sharing protocol which runs over the phones WiFi to suitably equipped devices enabling fast retrieval of images and media stored on the memory stick.

Alongside the WLAN there is also Bluetooth as you may expect to connect to hands free car kits, The C(05 fully support the Bluetooth stereo profile so you can use it with Bluetooth stereo headphones or speaker sets.

Using the SE C 950 is a nice experience, the 2.4" 240x320 pixel QVGA screen provides adequate resolution and makes the user interface look good, the buttons are a tad small for those which tubby thumbs but that seems to be true of all SE mobiles released, looks like diets for thumbs will be in by Christmas.

The battery life is an excellent 380 hours on standby or 9 hours talk time and from our test this is fairly realistic apart from heavy use of WiFi or heavy camera use with flash. Charging is via the standard charger which is included in the pack. The Sony Ericsson C905 also ships with a 2Gb memory stick which bolsters the phones 160mb internal memory.

The C905 is littered with applications for blogging, downloading and sharing, so if you ant to expose yourself in 8 mega pixel glory to the world you can using the blog / photo publish apps and a 3G data connection or WiFi hook up. There is also the standard email tools, web browser and cut down office apps including calendar, all of which can sync with a Desktop PC.

After some time with the Sony Ericsson C905 we were left in no doubt that it has everything you could want and the photography tools are first class for a phone, however you will ay the price in size and bulk. If you can live without the 8 mega pixels then the smaller C902 may be a good option for you as its much more manageable in terms of pocket space. If you want the full Monty then hang on in there for the C905 which should be available in September 08.

Sony Ericsson C905 - Due September 8

Price TBA

Can't wait try the C902

Published - 09/08/2008

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